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Holiday Entitlement
Almost all workers above school leaving age - not just employees but also, for example, agency and casual workers - are entitled to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday per leave year (28 days for a worker working a five-day week).
The 5.6 weeks is a minimum entitlement - you can choose to offer more.
You can count any days off for public or bank holidays towards a worker's statutory holiday entitlement - but only as long as you pay them for those days off.
Current national minimum wage rates
There are currently three different national minimum wage (NMW) rates and an apprentice rate, which are usually updated in October each year. The rates that apply from 1 October 2011 are as follows;
- for workers aged 21 years or more - £6.08 per hour
- for workers aged 18 to 20 inclusive - £4.98 per hour
- for workers aged under 18 (but above compulsory school age) - £3.68 per hour
- for apprentices: £2.60 per hour
The apprentice rate came into force for pay reference periods starting on or after 1 October 2010. It is payable to apprentices under 19 or over 19 and in the first year of their apprenticeship. After that, apprentices should be paid at the rate applicable to their age.
Maternity Leave
Maternity leave is made up of 26 weeks' ordinary maternity leave (OML) followed by 26 weeks' additional maternity leave (AML).
During both OML and AML, ie the entire statutory maternity leave (SML) period, an employee has a statutory right to continue to benefit from all the terms and conditions of her employment which would have applied to her had she been at work.